Purdue’s A.J. Hammons (20) puts up a shot in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013, in West Lafayette, Ind. Ohio State defeated Purdue 78-69. Hammons had a team-high 18 points in the game. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)

A.J. Hammons actually thought about playing for the Gophers after taking an official visit during his senior year of high school in 2011.

At the time, Minnesota had centers Mo Walker and Elliott Eliason as underclassmen in the program, although the 7-footer from Indiana said that wasn’t the reason he passed on Minnesota.

Purdue was simply closer to home.

“It was a family decision,” Hammons said. “We just sat down and talked about it. It didn’t have anything to do with the other bigs. The problem was just that it was a little too far.”

Hammons, a sophomore starter, will be playing in Minneapolis for the first time in his college career — and against Eliason and Walker for the second time — when the Gophers (11-3, 0-1) play host to the Boilermakers (10-4, 0-1) on Sunday at Williams Arena.

Last season, Hammons gave Minnesota a glimpse of what it missed out on when he scored 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting with a couple rim-rattling dunks in a 16-point Purdue victory in West Lafayette, Ind.

Two of Hammons’ three blocks were on shots from Walker, who went scoreless in three minutes. Eliason, who now starts at center for the Gophers, had four points and four rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

Even All-Big Ten post Trevor Mbakwe was held to just six points on 2-for-9 shooting.

“I saw him last year and he killed us,” Eliason said of Hammons. “I didn’t play a ton. But we’ve just got to get after him — push the tempo, try to get him in pick-and-roll situations, maybe in foul trouble, and see what we can do.”

The 251-pound Hammons is an intriguing NBA prospect because he’s a throwback center who prefers to play with his back to the basket and can change a game at either end of the floor.

“He’s probably the best big man in the league,” Gophers coach Richard Pitino said. “He’s a very, very tough matchup for us. It’s going to be a tough test for (Eliason) and Mo. We certainly have to help them.”

Hammons showed off his immense potential as a freshman last season, most notably with a 30-point, five-block performance against Indiana’s All-American center Cody Zeller. But Hammons had his rough games, as well, and was benched once for missing a team bus to Northwestern.

Purdue coach Matt Painter then suspended his starting center for three games this season, including the regular-season opener, for an unspecified team rules violation.

“If you have some pride, you’re going to make sure it doesn’t happen again, and you don’t have any more distractions. That’s going to be his challenge,” Painter told local reporters in October. “You try to hold him accountable, and hopefully he can learn from it and be better because of it.”

It took Hammons time to get comfortable after his return; he only scored in double figures four times in his first 12 games.

“I just had to get my mind right and get that behind me,” Hammons said. “I’m trying to get back right, still.”

The light seemed to come on in a Big Ten-opening 78-69 loss to third-ranked Ohio State this week. Hammons had 18 points, a career-best 16 rebounds, five blocks and four assists. He was the first Big Ten player since former Gophers’ star Joel Przybilla in 2000 to record at least 15 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks and four assists in a game.

“You’ve just got to attack him different ways, any different way you can,” Eliason said. “He’s a great player. He had a great game last game. He’s still going to continue that, I’m sure.”

Hammons, who averages 8.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and a Big Ten-leading 3.8 blocks, has four double-doubles in his career. Eliason, who is averaging 6.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, recorded his fourth of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with two blocks in Minnesota’s disappointing 63-60 loss Thursday in the Big Ten opener against Michigan at home.

“Having another 7-footer in there is going to push me to go a little bit harder,” Hammons said.

Briefly

Pitino said redshirt freshman forward Charles Buggs is recovered from an ankle injury and available to play Sunday.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in Sports

The Vikings reportedly will open next season where the last one ended in bitter disappointment. Minnesota will play at Philadelphia in the NFL opener on Thursday, Sept. 6, according to report Monday by sportscaster Howard Eskin, an Eagles sideline reporter. The Vikings lost 38-7 at Philadelphia in January's NFC Championship Game. The Eagles went on to win Super Bowl LII...

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins second baseman Brian Dozier always makes an effort to bond with his keystone partner at shortstop. Since the second half of 2016, that has been young Jorge Polanco. So it was with great sadness that Dozier was forced to react Monday morning to news of Polanco’s 80-game steroid suspension, handed down on Sunday by Major...

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Twins third baseman Miguel Sano has known Jorge Polanco since they were 12-year-old baseball prodigies in the famed town of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. So it was an emotional conversation on Sunday evening between the two teammates, friends for half their young lives, after Major League Baseball announced an 80-game steroid suspension...

EUGENE, Ore. — Sabrina Ionescu had 29 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and the second-seeded Oregon Ducks advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 101-73 victory over No. 10 Minnesota in the second round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament on Sunday night. It was the 11th straight victory for the Ducks, who are headed to the round of...

Since signing with the Timberwolves, Derrick Rose has insisted he still has something left in his 29-year-old legs. He proved as much Sunday night. After three underwhelming showings with the Wolves, Rose provided a spark for Minnesota during a 129-120 loss to Houston at Target Center. "Obviously, he's rejuvenated," Jimmy Butler said before the game. "I see him out there...

One word succinctly describes what’s transpired so far in the NCAA Tournament: Madness. But even that’s probably underselling it. A comeback for the ages by Nevada. An entire region left without a Top 4 seed in the Sweet 16 for the first time in tourney history. The 16-seed winner UMBC, falling short in its attempt to extend its historic run...